Summary: After trained examiners and accomplished business professionals performed a thorough assessment of their work, Mark Hamel and Michael O’Connor have been selected as recipients of an internationally recognized award from the Shingo Institute, a program in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. The authors will receive the award at the Shingo International Conference occurring April 9-13, 2018 in Orlando, Florida.

LOGAN, Utah — The Shingo Institute, a program in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, has awarded Mark Hamel and Michael O’Connor with the Shingo Publication Award for their book, “Lean Math: Figuring to Improve.” Hamel is partner and COO at The Murli Group and now a two-time Shingo Publication Award-winning author, as well as a blogger and speaker. O’Connor is an internationally recognized continuous improvement expert, author and Lean Six Sigma consultant.

“Receipt of the Shingo Publication Award signifies an author's significant contribution and practical application to the body of knowledge regarding enterprise excellence,” said Ken Snyder, executive director of the Shingo Institute.

By “challenging” or applying for an award, authors invite a group of accomplished professionals and trained examiners from the Shingo Institute to thoroughly review their publications. Shingo examiners select recipients based on a rigorous set of standards.

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The following is a quote from the Shingo Publication Award Feedback report that was compiled by the Shingo examiners, "The authors’ submission provides teaching and guidance on a more accurate use of lean math in lean transformations. Data and the math behind it is critical to continuous improvement implementation success. Having a concise reference tool for practitioners is a welcome breakthrough. More detailed use of math is needed in lean implementation. Certainly, many practitioners are using detailed math, but many, including the examiners, need to use it much more. The connection between the daily metrics and daily small improvements and the bottom line was impactful. The text is unique and will most likely be adopted in colleges and universities across the world."

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Mark Hamel and Dr. Mike would like to express their sincere gratitude to the Shingo Institute, their publisher, SME, their editor, Rosemary Csizmadia, and the many folks who contributed to Lean Math, especially Larry Loucka.

About

"Lean Math." Now, there's a name that evokes passion in the heart of every lean practitioner!?

But, the truth is effective lean transformations require some level of math, whether it's the often deceptively simple calculation of takt time, sizing kanbans, calculating process capability, or anything in between. It's hard to get away from math-free lean and certainly math-free six sigma!

Lean Math is not intended to be some purely academic study and it does not pretend to be part of the heart and soul of lean principles. Rather, it's a tool and a construct for thinking. Here we want to integrate lean math theories and examples with experimentation and application.

In the end, we hope the blog, along with its fledgling community, lives up to the tag line, "Figuring to improve."